MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A group of students from Manatee County took third place in a world STEM competition in Singapore, the school district announced Friday.
"These students are the next generation of engineers and scientists –and we couldn’t be more proud of their exceptional achievements on a world stage,” Deputy Superintendent Doug Wagner said. “The future is here –and Manatee County students are leading the way to a brighter tomorrow.”
The F1 in Schools is F1 is a multi-disciplinary curriculum and the largest global STEM competition in the world. Teams use computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) to collaborate, design, analyze, manufacture, test and race miniature compressed air powered Formula One cars.
The team, Perspective Racing, is led by Brian Kendzior a technology education teacher at Palmetto High School.
The team members include — Alana Kelly and Ahmad Ibsais, both seniors from Braden River High School; Jaxson Bunes a 2018 graduate of Palmetto High School; and Alex Kumar and Cassandra Atzrodt, seniors at Southeast High School.
The team wishes to thank the many generous supporters who made their trip to Singapore possible including: Manatee Education Foundation; Manatee Schools Adult, Career & Technical Education; AT&T; Mosaic; netBIOLOGICS; Charter Spectrum; McIntyre Elwell & Strammer General Contractors; ICONN; Auto Solutions; Dillon Machinery; R Cubed Engineering; and ABEC357.
The School District of Manatee County is one of only a few in the United States to offer the Formula 1 in Schools program. Manatee County students have made more top finishes at the state, national and world level than any other school district in the country. During previous World Finals competitions, District students earned first place in 2010; as well as second, third and fourth place finishes in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
